Twister

 

Twister was released into theaters on May 10th, 1996. Filming locations include Pilot Mound, Ia. and Kaw City, Maysville, and Wakita, Ok. It was directed by Jan de Bont. The lead of Bill Harding was played by Bill Paxton, who has been in a plethora of great films through the years. Some of which include Aliens, Near Dark, Nightcrawler, Predator 2, The Terminator and Tombstone. Sadly, he passed away on February 25th, 2017. After his death, Spotter Network choreographed 200 storm chasers to spell out "BP" with their GPS tracker blips on a radar display to honor him. This kind of tribute had only been done five times before, and it was the first time it had been done for someone who wasn't a storm chaser. The score was composed by Mark Mancina. The films first DVD release was on March 26th, 1997. It was one of the first movies ever released onto digital video disc.

Cafe - just before* Hwy. 19 and N3120 Rd. Maysville, Ok. 73057

The cafe building was only constructed for the film, and was removed after filming had concluded. The service station across the street still remains.

All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.

Waterspouts - E. Furguson Ave. Kaw City, Ok. 74641

The scene took place on a bridge crossing Kaw Lake.

All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.

Aunt Meg's house - Apache St. and Elm St. Wakita, Ok. 73771

The house is no longer there because it was actually destroyed in the film, as were other houses on the same street. Warner Brothers, looking for an authentic looking Oklahoma town it could tear up, found Wakita after it applied for a demolition grant to help it recover from a devastating hail storm two years prior. The storm had dropped grapefruit sized hail through the roofs and windows of Wakita's homes and businesses, and many uninsured vacant buildings had sat deteriorating, ever since. The movie studio offered to do more than $100,000 worth of demolition work and said they would clean it all up when they were done. They used the materials from the tear downs to fill five blocks of Wakita with waist-high debris, making the town look like it'd just been devastated by a tornado. There are actually homemade red stands that are part of Wakita's "Twister Walking Tour". The town also has the Twister Movie Museum, located at 101 W. Main St.

All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.

Failed Dorothy attempt - 130th St. Pilot Mound, Ia. 50223

This spot is known as "Twister Hill". The bridge seen in the film is crossing over the Des Moines River. Both screenshots are facing east.

All "Now" pictures taken in 2020.